Nissan's New Crossover Icon: In Production

SUNDERLAND, UNITED KNGDOM – Jan 22, 2014: Redesigned from the
ground up, the new generation Nissan Qashqai is now rolling off the
production line at the company’s record-breaking Sunderland
plant.

Designed, engineered and manufactured in the UK, Qashqai is the
best-selling Crossover in Europe and Nissan’s best-selling model in
Europe, having created a brand new segment on its launch in 2006.

Following widespread acclaim since its unveil in November, the new
generation model is now in full production at Sunderland, where a Qashqai
is built every 61 seconds on the factory’s Line 1.

Hosting a ceremony at the plant today, Nissan’s Chief Performance
Officer, Trevor Mann CBE, said: “The Nissan Qashqai blazed a trail
when we started production in 2006. It invented the Crossover segment,
propelled the Nissan brand in Europe to a new level and helped our plant in
Sunderland to set new standards in productivity and quality.

“The new Qashqai, with its bold design and segment-leading
technology, will once again elevate Nissan to a new level, as the benchmark
for the second generation of Crossovers and our flagship model in
Europe.”

Playing a starring role in a new film made for today’s ceremony
are members of the Nissan workforce, which has now grown above 7,000 for
the first time in the plant’s 28-year history, supporting a total of
more than 40,000 UK automotive industry jobs in design, engineering,
manufacturing, marketing and sales.

The international economic impact of Qashqai now spreads from Sunderland
across the world, with £534 million now invested by Nissan in its
development and production, supporting more than 224 suppliers in 22
countries, and exporting to more than 130 global markets.

UK Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. David Cameron said: “It’s
great news that the new model Qashqai is rolling off the production line in
Sunderland. Nissan supports 40,000 jobs across the UK, and when you add
that to the half a billion pound investment that Nissan have made in this
country for this new model, it shows how our long term plan is giving
companies the confidence to invest and create jobs in Britain.”

Executive Vice President Mann added: “Behind the rise of Qashqai
is the operational excellence of Nissan’s design, engineering and
manufacturing operations. It gives me great pleasure to return to
Sunderland today to thank and pay tribute to the many thousands of
colleagues at Nissan and in our supply base who have contributed to this
success.”

The new Nissan Qashqai is built on Sunderland’s Line 1, which has
been running on 24-hour operations since 2010 to meet demand, and where the
100% electric Nissan LEAF is also made. It is also the first Nissan
production vehicle in Europe to be based on the new CMF (Common Module
Family) Renault-Nissan Alliance platform.

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